Gabe Garcia Thinks That Nashville Star Made The Right Decision

The link attached below hits on an interview with Gabe Garcia. In the interview, Gabe discusses that he thinks the right person won Nashville Star. In addition, he gives a little insider information about the final three . . .

Click the link to read the story . . .

Nashville Star: A Pre-Finale Interview

A few minutes before the Nashville Star Finale, I was emailed an article posted in Reality TV World interviewing John Rich about the final three contestants. I'll post a link at the bottom where you all can read the whole article. Its very interesting to read John Rich's thoughts . . . it is very clear that La Rich is not fond of Shawn Mayer. He is VERY complimentary of both Gabe Garcia and Melissa Lawson . . . seeming to lean a wee bit more towards Lawson than Garcia . . . however, he stated that they are both talented and would be wonderful to work with . . . Then there are his remarks regarding La Mayer . . . Rich states that while he has seen a noticeable difference in Mayer's attitude and personality, he thinks that she is working with the same amount of talent now as she was at the beginning . . . "she has not gone from terrible to great". Really, really interesting article . . . Click the link to read the whole story.

Nashville Star Finale Tonight!

Tonight, Nashville Star will crown the winner of it's Fifth Season. We are down to three contestants: 1) Melissa Lawson, 2) Gabe Garcia, and 3) Shawn Mayer . . . not that I've ranked these in any particular order . . . er, um . . . anyway . . .

NBC is reporting that they received a "record number of votes" for this final three telecast, and that voting was up "53%" from the previous week. A Side Note Here: I have found it so very sketchy from the beginning that NBC would not release the number of votes they were receiving each week. . . or any information about voting period . . . and, lets not forget that week of the final 6 when they were supposed to go from six to four and then strangely only eliminated one person . . . weird . . . Anyway . . .

Other highlights from tonight's telecast . . . The final three reunite with their eliminated reality family for several performances this evening . . . think Idol finale, cut in half, with a lower budget. Country legend George Jones will perform . . . The BRC will bust out his guitar, but hopefully not his mullet when he croons a tune from his latest CD, and finally, our winner will perform the song written by John Rich as the first single to hit radio tomorrow.

I really hope Nashville Star can pull off a decent finale. I haven't been thrilled with all of the contestants, but there are some good folks here, and I think if they do some major tweaking, they could make this show into something special . . . here's hoping

Click the link to read a full story about the finale posted by RealityWorld

Nashville Star: The Rankings!

The Rankings For The Top 4 Of Nashville Star . . .

I am going to leave out Coffey from these rankings since he was eliminated this evening . . .

Round One

1. Shaun Mayer - Gretchen Wilson song . . . don't know the name of the song . . . WOW! She was wonderfully in control of her voice and the stage.

2. Melissa Lawson - She sang a little "Hit me with your best shot" . . . It was quite good in the way that she always is . . . just not her best . . .

3. Gabe Garcia - I was unsure from the beginning what this song was . . . he was wonderful as per usual . . . I was just a little underwhelmed by the song, and its lack of intensity . . .

Round Two

1. Melissa Lawson - Singing a little Carrie Underwood, I've got to tell ya, she was spot on. I was a little worried with doing such a recognizable song, but man, she just nailed it . . .

2. Shaun Mayer - Slowing it down a bit, this girl just did a phenomenal job . . . She has really improved in the past few weeks . . .

3. Gabe Garcia - I love him . . . very much . . . and his vocals are very much on spot . . .but, he just didn't have the umph for my taste.

Overall rankings . . .

1. Melissa Lawson - Her second song was just a bit better than Shaun's first

2. Shaun Mayer - A close second here . . . They could very potentially be tied for first.

3. Gabe Garcia - He is so good, but I think both of his performances were out done by the girls.

From these rankings, it would seem obvious that I think the two girls will be the final two . . . I have no idea how Nashville Star will eliminate the third . . .they may wait until the end, or they may do it in the middle of the show . . . either way, I think that Gabe and Melissa will be the final two and that Melissa Lawson will be out winner.



Nobody is leaving comments, so, come on, y'all! Give me your opinions!

Who Is Going Home And Who Advances To the Finale!

Oh sweet goodness . . . its elimination time . . . its either Coffey or Gabe going to the finale. Here comes BRC's "spine tingling" silence of death . . . Who's a goin home, y'all?

It's Coffey . . . YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! HOLLA!

That means that Gabe Garcia is going to the finale . . . and rightfully so . . .

Taking the stage for his final performance is Gabe Garcia . . . and he is performing a very appropriate countrified male song . . . as per usual, I'm not really sure about the song . . . I think it's called "Living In Fast Forward" . . . I think . . . maybe . . . its Kenny Chesney . . . maybe . . . Anyhoo, he sounds great. He sounds wonderful, as per usual . . . it could have been a bit more upbeat, but, nevertheless, he is country mainstream all day long . . .

Jeff Steele - Thinks he is radio all day long

John Rich - Thinks that he could be very important to country music, and that there is a record deal in his future.

Jewel - thinks he is singing great, and he is not a very "vain singer" . . . there are notes he has not even discovered yet . . .

I'm not a huge country music fan overall, but Gabe Garcia has been a favorite of mine from the beginnning . . .

Overall, a very, very good episode . . . not quite as good as last week, but a very good job by all three finalists . . .

Rankings to follow . . .

Melissa Lawson Takes The Wheel And Drives It Home

The BRC is ready to give us the second of three finalists. Who will it be?

Melissa Lawson is our second finalist. Whew . . . Yay! She freakin rules . . .

Here she comes, our girl is gonna croon a little Carrie Underwood . . . seriously, I heart La Lawson, but I'm not really sure that this is a smart move. I've got my fingers crossed . . .

Seriously, no need to cross my fingers. Our girl was freakin awesome! She and Jesus took the wheel together and drove it all the way home. Her voice is amazing and she just looked like she is already a star . . . As I have said before, I hope she wins, but I don't necessarily think she needs to . . . she's gonna be at the CMA's next year . . . .

The Finalists: Shaun Mayer Is Up First

Its Elimination Time, Y'all! So, the BRC is announcing who will be the first to move into the Finale . . .



Shaun Mayer is the first to advance!



I've got to give it to this girl . . . each week she has gotten better, and now she seems so very comfortable and totally in control of her performances . . .



Shaun Mayer is singing a Garth Brooks tune tonight . . . she did a great job. Very, very good performance, and very very good vocals. She sounded country, and has found herself. I'm impressed.



John Rich - Thinks that she has gotten better and better and is light years ahead of where she was ten weeks ago.



Jewel - Thinks that she has improved each week and will be a real asset to any record label that picks her up.



Jeff Steele - Thinks that she is limping tonight, but really pulled it out and is a contender.

Melissa Lawson Hits Us Up!

Here comes the winner of Nashville Star . . . er, I mean, the final performer of our Top 4 . . . Melissa Lawson. We all HEART her, and think she is amazing!

She is going back home, and is very emotional. She has gone back to her high school and is so touched by those who showed up.

Tonight, our girl is singing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" . . . this is certainly not the song I would have chosen for her, but I'm sure she'll do fine. Her voice sounded great and she looks wonderful. I really don't think that was her best performance . . . but her voice is still amazing.

Jewel thinks that she hit the high notes when she needed to and did an overall great job.

Jeff Steele thinks she is great but is getting a little tired of all of the high notes . . .

John Rich thinks she is great . . . and asks her, a little unfairly, what becoming Nashville Star would mean to her . . . everyone should have gotten that question . . .

Anyhoo, I love her . . .

Coffey Is A Star . . . Maybe Not A Nashville Star

Third to perform tonight is Coffey . . . so plays into my theory . . . he's third and Melissa Lawson is last. That will put her as the last performance of the night and the last thing any potential voters will hear.

To Coffey . . . he went home to LA and got a star on the Walk of Fame. Here he comes to perform . . . gonna sing Sweet Home Alabama . . . His voice should be a decent match for this song. Y'all know I don't love Coffey . . . but, he has gotten better in vocals and performance in the past few weeks. As has happened the past few weeks, his vocals are better (a few very iffy moments) and his performance was quite nice. I still feel like he is a couple of steps behind the others.

Jeff Steele - thinks that he is quite nice with these types of songs . . . thinks he is a star, but not sure if he is a Nashville Star.

John Rich - dittos Jeff Steele

Jewel - thinks he did a nice job.

Gabe Garcia Is Ready For A Cocktail

Next up in our top 4, Gabe Garcia . . . this really should come down to him and Melissa Lawson; . . . In his home visit, he is given the key to the city . . . I just love him.

Gabe is singin, "Its Five Oclock Somewhere" . . . kind of a non-energetic performance for me . . . vocals were a bit shaky, not my favorite from him. I hope his second one is better . . .

Jeff Steele thinks that he was a bit shaky vocally, and wants the next one to be better

John Rich continues his love affair with Gabe and thinks it was wonderful.

Jewel is glad he got to go home and is looking forward to his next performance.

I think we all have to remember that with this few people watching and voting, placement in the lineup and energetic songs are key . . . hmmmm . . .

That being said, I find the placement of the performers very interesting . . . I kind of think that it's intersting that Shaun was first . . . I think that Coffey is going home tonight . . . so, if that's true, Melissa Lawson will be the last of the remaining . . . I think they really want her to win . . . just a thought.

Nashville Star: The Top 4 . . . Shaun Mayer Channells Her RedNeck Woman

It's the final voting episode of Nashville Star!!!!



So, we are down to our final four. Our final four are . . . Melissa Lawson, Gabe Garcia, Shaun Mayer, and Coffey. The way its gonna go tonight . . . all four will perform two songs tonight, and then one will be eliminated. The final three will be the "finalists" and next week's finale . . . could I say the word "final" or derivatives thereof, anymore than I already have? :)





First up, Shaun Mayer. For those of you who have been reading the blog, you know that she is from Northeast Iowa, and we get the obligatory "I went home and got a big crowd to hear me perform video recap". Seriously, one of the only times we've seen real emotion from her.



She's bouts to perform . . . I'll be honest, I've heard this song, but I don't quite know the name. Oh wait, its Gretchen Wilson. She sounds great. Very good energy. Very good vocals. Very, very good job.



John Rich was hoping at the beginning of this process that she would never tackle Gretchen Wilson, but now, she made that song sound like a Shaun Mayer song.



Jewel - Oh MY-LANTA . . . why does Jewel suddenly look like she is eleventy hundred years old . . . I understand that she curled her hair up, but seriously . . . the hair, the dress . . . yikes!

Anyhoo, she said that she loved Shaun and just wants her to continue to get better



Jeff Steele - He thinks that she did a great job, and tells the audience that she is suffering from a little wisdom tooth probelm. He wanted her to kill the last note, but, more to the point, wants her to make her next performance her best . . . it could be her last.

Nashville Star: Melissa Lawson Talks About The Top 4

Fort Worth, Texas Newspaper, the Star Telegram, has published an interview with Melissa Lawson. The interview highlights her time on the show and how she handles life with her family and the idea of touring. Click the link to read the story.

:Melissa Lawson Heads To The House

An NBC affiliate in North Texas has written a story about Melissa Lawson's homecoming day for Nashville Star. As Little Taste Readers know, Melissa is one of the final four contestants on this season of Nashville Star. Moreover, she has been one of this bloggers favorites all season long. Melissa is just amazing, and I can't wait to see the video of her homecoming. I can only imagine just how genuinely touched she was by her fans.

Click the link to read the whole thing!

Nashville Star's Shawn Mayer Takes A Quick Trip Back Home

Iowa Newspaper, The Spencer Daily Reporter has released a full length story on Nashville Star contestant, Shawn Mayer. This week on Nashville Star, the contestants are headed back to the house. Each of the Top 4 will return home for much fanfair, many parades, and lots of baby kissin!

This story focuses on Shawn and her path through Nashville Star. La Mayer does not seem terribly confident that she will win this competition . . . then, she back tracks a bit and basically says it is anybody's ballgame.

Melissa Lawson, Gabe Garcia, Coffey, and La Mayer will perform two songs on Monday night. One will be voted off and the remaining three will perform in the Nashville Star finale.

Click the link to read the entire story.

The Final Two . . . Will Ashlee or Shaun Head to the House?

The final two performers tonight are Ashlee Hewitt and Shaun Mayer.

Ashlee Hewitt is up first singing her original ditty, "Mike's Hard Lemonade". She calls it a little bit nasty, but she's comfortable with it. She has been looking forward to this night the entire time.

She just sounds wonderful. Like Coffey, this is by far her BEST performance. She sounds comfortable and her stage presence is, as per usual, on target. For the first time, I'm totally into her voice. She sounds kind of like a more country version of Jewel. I'm impressed.

Jewel - She thinks that Ashlee is, above everyone else, an artist. She loved the song, and wants to write songs for her when she records.
Jeff - Ditto his other comments. He just thinks that everyone is more talented than he would have ever anticipated.
John - Thinks that no matter what happens, Nashville would be a fool not to give her a recording contract.

I don't know if I would go as far as Jewel . . . I think Gabe and Melissa are both artists as much, if not more so than Ashlee. However, I guess we've got to cut Jewel a break here, she is talking to the girl who is almost EXACTLY her spitting image.

Shaun Mayer is up next, and I think Jeff Steele has worked with her so much better than John Rich. She just seems to blossom under his tutelage. She is also singing her own original tune tonight, "I'm Not Looking Back".

I will say this . . . probably not the best performance of the night . . .BUT, this is clearly the one song out of all five where she absolutely FEELS the lyrics. Clearly, the one performance that was from the heart. Excellent!

John - Thinks that she has knocked it out of the park the past two weeks. If she goes this week it is bad timing.
Jewel - Mentions the Lisa Marie Presley connection again. Liked her.
Jeff - Just completely loved her performance and her phrasing throughout the song.

ELIMINATION TIME!

Here comes the BRC with the recap and the inevitable massive silence of elimination . . . Who is going home?




Ashlee Hewitt is hitting the road, jack. BRC thinks she is a star waiting to happen. Again, she was the first to perform last week . . . seems to be a complete hex.

Pimpin The Judges . . . And Gabe Garcia Kicks It Country Style

Next up, our judges perform. It appears as if all three of our judges are going to perform some of their hits and then their gonna kick it country style together. First up, Jewel sings her non-country hits. Jeff Steele sings some of his songs, and now, we're saving horse by riding a cowboy. And we're done . . .

Gabe Garcia is the next to be through to the Top 4, and he is singing his original song, "Lost Weekend". He seems more and more confident each week. I'm wishing good things for him tonight.




Mr. Garcia does not disappoint. This song, much like Melissa Lawson's, could be released on the radio right now and be a hit. In fact, this song is a wee bit better put together than Melissa's. However, I will say that neither one of them (Gabe and Melissa) will be lost after this show is complete. Excellent!

Jeff - Ruining his critiques! Great work and great lyrics.
John - Liked it as well, and thinks it could be a big hit. He is cautioning him to remember that his connection with the audience is still a problem.
Jewel - Liked it, but wants to make sure that he understands that originality is important.

Melissa Lawson is Ready To Stand

And, we're back. Who is next to be safe and move on to the top 4. Thank Goodness . . . Melissa Lawson is up next. She only started writing lyrics a few months ago . . . What I hear in the mentor session sounds pretty darn good. She's singing "Ready to Stand" . . . This song is really good in a . . . I will probably go on itunes and download it now . . . kind of way. VERY VERY RADIO FRIENDLY!
Excellent!

Jewel - Thought she did a good job writing a song for her own voice
Jeff - He's mad. He was ready to critique. He can't. She was really great.
John - Is becoming more and more impressed each week. She needs to stay focused, but she is in control.

I think at this point, it doesn't matter whether or not this girl wins . . . she's record contract bound.

Nashville Star: The Top 5 Perform . . . Coffey Is Seriously A Southern Man

It's time for the Final Five on Nashville Star. We're down to five finalists - Two Guys - Coffey & Gabe Garcia AND three girls - Shaun, Melissa, and Ashlee. They will all be performing songs they penned themselves.

BRC wants us to "get this party started".



Once again, we begin this show with me saying WTF . . . as Coffey is up first. He is singing a song he wrote called "Southern Man" . . . Strangely awkward song . . . his vocals are better this week, and he seems much more relaxed. By FAR his best performance.

Jeff - Wanted to hate it, but didn't.
John - Didn't think the song was a hit song on country radio. . . but thought the performance was good.
Jewel - thought the song was about him and that's why people are gonna vote for him.

Thankfully Jewel is telling us why people are voting for him because I have never really been clear. However, I will say again, his best performance by far.

5000 and Growing, Y'all!

Hey Y'all!

With all of the shizz going on in this thing I call life right now, I totally forgot to acknowledge our 5000th hit! Holy Shizz! It continues to tickle me to no end that our little blog has been hit up 5000 times . . . actually, right now, we are knock knock knockin on the door of 5200!

So, as it usually goes here at A Little Taste of Idol, I have chosen to post an old school idol clip to commemorate the occasion. I was thinking about all of the famous . . . and infamous . . . Idol performances, and I remembered one that is not often mentioned anymore.

Take a trip down memory lane with me, won't you . . . The year was 2005, and the competition was American Idol IV. The final three performers were Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, and Vonzelle Solomon. A particularly spectacular final three if I am remembering correctly. However, what made this Top 3 stand out for me was that it featured, arguably, one of the boldest moves in Idol history! One Mr. Bo Bice chose to sing the song "In A Dream" . . . . ACAPELLA! IT WAS AMAZING! Thinking back on that performance still gives me a bit of a chill.

I hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane!

And keep checking in for more Idol and Nashville Star updates!

Elimination . . . Laura & Sophie Harmonize AND Shaun Mayer Is Gonna Screw Up Somebody's Ride

Here comes Laura and Sophie and Shaun Mayer . . . which one will go home . . .

Laura and Sophie are up first . . . they look much more grown up tonight AND in fact the one girl . . . I can’t figure out which one she is . . . looks just like Miley Cyrus . . . hmmm . . . vocals are MUCH better tonight and they seem to be performing much better. The harmonies were tighter. Much, much better tonight.

To start off, John Rich wants to know why these girls were disrespectful and rolled their eyes at Jewel. One of the girls . . . I can’t remember which . . . said that a lot of people told her that she rolled her eyes but she didn’t know she had done it. Jewel suggests that perhaps she had a seizure and maybe she could go ahead and do it a bunch right now to get it out of her system. Anyway, Jewel thinks that they looked better and that they performed better, but doesn’t think that their harmonies are improving. John Rich doesn’t comment anymore. Jeff Steele is proud of the job that they did and thinks they look better but is not thrilled with their performance. . . . The girls are clearly not thrilled with their remarks . . .

In their defense, I know . . . I know . . . I’m not usually one to defend them, but . . . if I had to stand up on stage every week and get railed on, my face might occasionally betray me. . . The girls were definitely better tonight.

Shaun Mayer is up next . . . and George Jones is in the audience . . . I’m not sure just how that is relevant to Shaun singing, “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood. Very, very nice. Great job. She really seems like she is comfortable in her clothes and in her voice.

Jewel loved it, and feels a bond with her. She thought she did a really good job.
John Rich thinks that this is the performance he has been waiting for from her.
Jeff Steele thinks she is a bad ass and brought it all on stage.

Great job!

Here we go with elimination . . . Shaun Mayer is smiling and the girls look bitter . . . after the obligatory eleventy years of silence . . . we find out that the duo of Laura and Sophie are eliminated. The girls clearly look as if they have a bit of a speech prepared . . . they knew it was their time. Jeff Steele thinks they’ve got some raw talent there, and that they need to stay friends and keep working . . .

Next week, they are performing their own original songs . . . that should be interesting.